Civil servants knew of Shannon plan

THE Government will find itself at the centre of a political storm today after it emerged civil servants at the Department of Transport knew of Aer Lingus’s proposal to withdraw from Shannon just weeks after the general election.

Documents obtained by the Irish Examiner under the Freedom of Information Act show the principal officer in the Air Service Development Division in the department knew as early as June.

Following a conversation with a senior manager at Aer Lingus, he notes in a written account, dated June 13, that a Belfast base would “entail moving an aircraft from Shannon to Belfast and a cessation of Shannon-Heathrow services”.